I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3001 

To reestablish the Office of Noise Abatement and Control in the 

Environmental Protection Agency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2019 

Ms. MENG (for herself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. NORTON, 

Ms. MOORE, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. 

SPEIER, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. BROWNLEY of 

California, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. CASE, 

Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. BEYER, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. PETERS, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 

BROWN of Maryland, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, and Mr. ESPAILLAT) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To reestablish the Office of Noise Abatement and Control 

in the Environmental Protection Agency, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Quiet Communities 

3 Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that: 

6 (1) Approximately 28,000,000 Americans are 

7 afflicted with some hearing loss and it has been esti8 mated that 10,000,000 of these impairments are at 

9 least partially attributable to damage from exposure 

10 to noise. 

11 (2) For millions of Americans, noise from air12 craft, vehicular traffic, and a variety of other 

13 sources is a constant source of torment. Millions of 

14 Americans are exposed to noise levels that can lead 

15 to sleep loss, psychological and physiological damage, 

16 and work disruption. 

17 (3) Chronic exposure to noise has been linked 

18 to increased risk of cardiovascular disorders, learn19 ing deficits in children, stress, and diminished qual20 ity of life. 

21 (4) Excessive noise leading to sleep deprivation 

22 and task interruptions can result in untold costs on 

23 society in diminished worker productivity. 

24 (5) Pursuant to authorities granted under the 

25 Clean Air Act of 1970, the Noise Control Act of 

26 1972, and the Quiet Communities Act of 1978, the 


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1 Environmental Protection Agency established an Of2 fice of Noise Abatement and Control. Its responsibil3 ities included promulgating noise emission stand4 ards, requiring product labeling, facilitating the de5 velopment of low emission products, coordinating 

6 Federal noise reduction programs, assisting State 

7 and local abatement efforts, and promoting noise 

8 education and research. However, funding for the 

9 Office of Noise Abatement and Control was termi10 nated in 1982 and no funds have been provided 

11 since. 

12 (6) Because the Environmental Protection 

13 Agency remains legally responsible for enforcing reg14 ulations issued under the Noise Control Act of 1972 

15 even though funding for these activities were termi16 nated, and because the Noise Control Act of 1972 

17 prohibits State and local governments from regu18 lating noise sources in many situations, noise abate19 ment programs across the country lie dormant. 

20 (7) As population growth and air and vehicular 

21 traffic continue to increase, noise pollution is likely 

22 to become an even greater problem in the future. 

23 The health and welfare of our citizens demands that 

24 the Environmental Protection Agency, the lead Fed25 eral agency for the protection of public health and 


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1 welfare, once again assume a role in combating noise 

2 pollution. 

3 SEC. 3. REESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF NOISE ABATE4 MENT AND CONTROL. 

5 (a) REESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the 

6 Environmental Protection Agency shall reestablish within 

7 the Environmental Protection Agency an Office of Noise 

8 Abatement and Control. 

9 (b) DUTIES.—The responsibilities of the Office in10 clude the following: 

11 (1) To promote the development of effective 

12 State and local noise control programs by providing 

13 States with technical assistance and grants to de14 velop the programs, including the purchase of equip15 ment for local communities. 

16 (2) To carry out a national noise control re17 search program to assess the impacts of noise from 

18 varied noise sources on mental and physical health. 

19 (3) To carry out a national noise environmental 

20 assessment program to identify trends in noise expo21 sure and response, ambient levels, and compliance 

22 data and to determine the effectiveness of noise 

23 abatement actions, including actions for areas 

24 around major transportation facilities (such as high25 ways, railroad facilities, and airports). 


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1 (4) To develop and disseminate information and 

2 educational materials to the public on the mental 

3 and physical effects of noise and the most effective 

4 means for noise control through the use of materials 

5 for school curricula, volunteer organizations, radio 

6 and television programs, publications, and other 

7 means. 

8 (5) To develop educational and training mate9 rials and programs, including national and regional 

10 workshops, to support State and local noise abate11 ment and control programs. 

12 (6) To establish regional technical assistance 

13 centers which use the capabilities of university and 

14 private organizations to assist State and local noise 

15 control programs. 

16 (7) To undertake an assessment of the effec17 tiveness of the Noise Control Act of 1972. 

18 (c) PREFERRED APPROACHES.—In carrying out its 

19 duties under this section, the Office shall emphasize noise 

20 abatement approaches that rely on local and State activi21 ties, market incentives, and coordination with other public 

22 and private agencies. 

23 (d) STUDY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Using funds made available 

25 to the Office, the Administrator shall carry out a 


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1 study of airport noise. The Administrator shall carry 

2 out the study by entering into contracts or other 

3 agreements with independent scientists with exper4 tise in noise measurements, noise effects, and noise 

5 abatement techniques to conduct the study. 

6 (2) CONTENTS.—The study shall examine the 

7 selection of noise measurement methodologies by the 

8 Federal Aviation Administration, the threshold of 

9 noise at which health impacts are felt, and the effec10 tiveness of noise abatement programs at airports 

11 around the Nation. 

12 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 24 months after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

14 shall transmit to Congress a report on the results of 

15 the study, together with specific recommendations 

16 on new measures that can be implemented to miti17 gate the impact of aircraft noise on surrounding 

18 communities. 

19 SEC. 4. GRANTS UNDER QUIET COMMUNITIES PROGRAM. 

20 Section 14(c)(1) of the Noise Control Act of 1972 

21 (42 U.S.C. 4913(c)(1)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara23 graph (C); and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(E) establishing and implementing train2 ing programs on use of noise abatement equip3 ment; and 

4 ‘‘(F) implementing noise abatement 

5 plans;’’. 

6 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated for each of 

8 fiscal years 2020 through 2024 $21,000,000 for activities 

9 of the Office of Noise Abatement and Control reestab10 lished under section 3. 

Æ 


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